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Please come pick him up

not sure if this is the thread, but there is no QTDDOT.

Is trying to shoot wildlife telephoto with an APS-C sensor a lost cause? Should I be looking to get a full frame camera?
Although it was likely almost entirely user error because I am a total noob, I was not extremely satisfied with the 200mm (320mm full frame) aps-c lens on my t3i.

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>>4500448
What do you mean? I shoot with an APS-C (R7). APS-C is great for wildlife
>>4500395
>>4500406

>Although it was likely almost entirely user error
Yes

>>4500449
>18MP DSLR from 2011, vs 32MP mirrorless from 2022
okay, let me rephrase. is my pawn shop bargain camera that's old enough to legally operate an automobile on public roads good enough for wildlife telephoto?

>>4500450
Yes

>>4500448
A crop sensor is nice because you don't have to carry as long a lens if you decide to go out to look for the birds.

Its also nice to use cheaper cameras if you hike out for the birds so its less devastating if you do something stupid.

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Last summer there was a couple of young owls in a tree next to my house, from the attic window, with a digital compact camera while holding a monocular in front of the lens I managed to get a surprisingly fun shot, it was a little improvisational but turned out better than I expected.

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>>4500541

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>>4500542

>>4500521

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>>4500543

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>>4500545

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>>4500547

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>>4500549

BE honest
do you like bird photos
or just bird photography (the act)

>>4500560
I like good bird photos, I also like seeing bird photos from my friends (like you).
I like photographing birds just a little more because it's exciting.

>>4500560
I like bird photos, that’s why I try to get good ones

>>4500560
I enjoy learning about the birds I photograph, but mostly I enjoy the act of bird photography. I'm just as happy to get a picture of a common bird as something rare if it lets me get some good pictures.

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>>4500560
As I like all wildlife photography, birds are involved. Here is one a snapshit I have been dicking around with in LR.

>>4500334
the depth of field slaps on this one. how'd you manage this? is it all the lens or was there post-processing done?

>>4500595
Sufficiently far away and sufficiently closed down will get you wider DoF even on 800mm. I would guess it is 300mm or 400mm though.

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>>4500595
Partly the lens (600mm) and partly post processing (some vignetting), but mainly it was a very blank and uniform sky behind it

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>>4500617
Oh I thought he meant the background uniformity. DoF is actually shallow in that image but I'm far away and all the elements are on the same plain, so it worked out well

>>4500624
Yes, by "wide enough DoF" I meant ~10cm maybe 20cm and not paper thin. Super telephoto compression is crazy. I usually use f/11 on mine if the light allows just to have enough leverage for the bird to stay in focus, wide open is f/5.6.

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>>4500544
???

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this fella was doing some damage

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I found some old negatives from maybe 18 years ago, shot on my grandpa's yashicaflex when I got after he passed away. I even developed the film on my own.
I had no idea what I was doing with the shooting nor with the developing but somehow I did it, and one of the pictures had a pigeon and two sparrows in it.

A little embarrassing... Looking at the picture but oh well, thought it would be fun to share, heck even the scanning job I did was a little shitty, let's consider this a learning moment.

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I finally got a telephoto lens but I think I'll need a monopod since the thing is bloody heavy and hard to hold steady.

found a juvenile kookaburra though when looking around for something to test it on.

>>4501126
Aww what a lovely bird, does that mean you're in Australia?
I never really shot with a telelens, I reckon it hampers your movement quite a bit, no? But the ability to get close without having to be close is such a luxury.

>>4501153
It only showed up yesterday so all I've done with it is walk one minute to the park at the end of the street. Still, by the time I had finished walking around the park I kinda wished I had brought a bag.

but yeah I'm australian and I want to try get some pictures of lorikeets now since I was having trouble getting nice pictures of them before.

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>>4501126
if its an old 600 f4 yea those things are monsters, probably best for a blind

the 200-5/600 6.3s are all light enough to one hand with a little practice. Some boomer i met on the trail let me hold his brand new 800 6.3 and holy shit it was light, if i make a bunch of money hahaha

If I can't get both is higher pixel count or shutter speed better birds?

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>>4501381
I am of the opinion that pixel count is one of the least important factors in photography in general, so I'd go with shutter speed

>>4501460
Wow- this is superb

>>4501381
Lens quality. There is a video about it. The reason is a shit lens gives you shit image on both low pixel and high end cameras. A good quality lens will give you sharp details even on low pixel and slow cameras.
Always prioritize the quality lens over features and megapixels.

>>4501482
Found it! Some chad actually saved it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNWsCcaxC8o

>>4501460
Yeah, that's what I was leaning towards as well

>>4501482
I think the only way to get a better lens is to swap out my zoom for a $14k prime. I got the camera for pictures of another hobby of mine and while it is good for manually focusing on static targets from a tripod, I've found that the autofocus and shutter speed make it not very good for small moving targets.

>>4501453
Splendid

>>4501485
If your zoom is sharp enough you don't need to switch. Shutter speed is plenty enough even on entry level DSLRs, 1/2000s should be more than enough for generic birding. If yours goes up to 1/4000s or 1/8000s then good, you might be able to freeze insects and hummingbirds as well. Small birds like to twitch about that will give you motion blur that is something you can't avoid. With AF don't splerge out too much, most tracking AF fails in one way or another, if you focus at the right part and your DoF is well chosen your subject will have some room to move and still get sharp details. I don't find super shallow DoF too feasible, what good is a sharp eye and beak when the rest is a blurred mess? You want the small details, feathers, wispy fibers sharp as well as the eyes and beak. You don't exactly need world class tracking AF for this, most bird shots are a bird on a stick so just single focus on the stick and look for the catch light in the eyes. What combination are you using?

>>4501520
well I guess that means it's just a skill issue on my part and I should just get better at taking photos outside a lightbox. I have a sony a7iii and their 200-600mm lens so I probably shouldn't waste money on a new camera.

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Noob here. I rented a fancy L series 70-200 for my Canon M50 for something else, and decided to try birds while I had a telephoto. It was the funnest thing I’ve done in a while. What EF lenses do you guys think are best for birds for less than a grand? I’m thinking a used Sigma 150-600 or a Canon 100-400. Is the extra zoom worth it? Is an M50 even worth spending a grand on a lens for it?

Pic related is the one of the better photos I got.

>>4501564
You will need the 400mm for birding. The Sigma might sound good on paper but optically it is not as good as Canon and if you shell out your money on it you will be stuck with it. Plus reportedly the Sigma 150-600 has focus twitching problems on Canon mirrorless.
I don't know much about the M mount but I heard good things about the RF 100-400 and even better from the RF 100-500, those are very good lenses to go out birding.

>>4501535
No that combination is all you want for birding. Practice handholding and stance, practice focusing, and don't worry about heavy brushes and branches, all AF gets confused with them and that is when you go for manual focus. Birds feel safer in heavy brushes and branches so they will linger for longer. Always look for the catch light in their eyes and close down aperture to widen your DoF, more chance for the subject to stay in focus. Bird in flight might sound interesting until you get bored with it and instead look for activity, birds doing stuff is infinitely more interesting than bird on a stick or flying around. The emphasis is on getting out and practice, it will take time and a lot of blurry snapshits.

>>4501589
Thank you. It seems like the Mk 1 100-400 are the ones available for less than a thousand while the Mk 2 are pushing like $1600. From what I’m reading it sounds like the newer one is worth it so I guess I’ll keep saving. They don’t make a converter from RF to the M mount which is pretty unfortunate. I’m also seeing an EF 70-300 for pretty cheap but I’m worried that won’t reach far enough.

>>4501701
Ehh. I would not recommend the old 100-400 especially on an M50. They worked well on a 40D back then but in reality the long end is not so stellar, kind of mushy. Either get the 100-400 II or the EF 400/5.6 prime instead. Alternatively the EF 300/4 and a 1.4xTC and you will have IS.

>>4501701
The EF 70-300 1. will make you wish for a longer lens and 2. will make you wish you spent a bit more to have sharp images. Avoid it.

>>4501900
Nice. Needs to be closed down a tad more

>>4501943
Nice, at least the wire is in focus

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I think these dudes are miffed they can't shoot the longtails. They seem like chuds so i normally kinda hide when i see them.

Really i'd be less of a judgy bitch but i know for a fact most of them don't eat duck, they sell them to the asians for cheap.
They literally just like to kill things.

>>4502050
Gigachads irl
>you just kill ducks so asians can eat them instead of buying factory farmed meat from billionaire owned supermarkets!? Are you even a LIBERAL, CHUD?
>Yes.

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>>4502051
yea i mean i guess that is knda a benefit? idk bruh i work with fuckers like these, literally empty except for a vague desire to destroy anything they think is faggy, including natural beauty. these are not your uhh, teddy roosevelts. one of them shot himself in the leg last week fucking with a gun tho that was pretty funny.

Also they shoot the cool divers. Shoot some of these fucking things, there're thousands pf em where they dont belong.

>>4502050
Why are you taking photos cropped to 16:9?

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>>4502202
imagining them as wallpapers i wont set and prints i cant afford

Have any of you guys tried this?
https://ebird.org/home

>>4502311
Been using it for a few months. While it's good for birding, it's only 'ok' for bird photography. eBird is more for scientific observation, tracking and species identification. While you can put 'pretty' bird pictures on there, you can't get too artsy with it; like silhouettes or images where you can't fully identify the bird over a pretty scene. The admins are real sticks-in-the-mud. I often get emails asking for more data points. Very annoying.

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honk honk

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hello birdfriends,

im looking to build a setup to livestream a nestbox that i have on my balcony.
i have an outlet there, and WIFI.
ive been trying to find a camera for that purpose, but the internet only shits out AI.articles and cheap chinese nestbox cams that are made for that purpose, but i feel like there must be better options.
the camera would be put into the roof, so it looks down onto the birds from above, in the nestbox.

the camera needs to be able to film at night in total darkness too, i have electrical power there and i have wifi so i can get it up on the internet, so the cam needs to have a wifi connection.
willing to spend up to 500 bucks on the project.

any ideas? i have a DJI action 5 pro, but i dont know whats its capable of and i think it cant film at night.

>>4502050
Man this is dangerous, I think they should know that you are there for your own safety, they have guns and they're probably shooting everything that moves because they think it must be a hog or chupakabra.

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>>4502311
I use it for planning trips, along with birdplaces. (UK)

>>4502054
>They just love destroying beauty.
>i wish someone would kill all the swans btw
jej

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I'm saving up for a less awful camera setup but I did catch this guy shitting.

>>4502701
That's a weird leg

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>>4502604
>>4502727
Lovely birds

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Any thoughts on a crop?

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Maybe this?

>>4503275
pc wallpaper
>>4503276
phone wallpaper

>>4503277
That helps a lot, thank you

>>4500624
Great shot, love that. Looks like he just arrived at work and realised he left his keycard at home.

>>4503278
You should make your own calendar

>>4503282
Yeah, take some photos and you can contribute to it

>>4503284
Then it's my calendar and not your own

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>>4503287
bpd calendar 2027

>>4503311
Mite b cool. I only have a 28mm prime lens though

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Got my first AF tele 2 days ago. On my trial walk in the evening, scored this treecreeper munching on a little snack! Hope it counts, even if it I not the best pic...

>>4503336
I hope you were a mile away from the bird

>>4503336
You don't need to crop so much in especially for such a tiny bird. Leave some context as well for the photo.

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>>4503532
My creativity has been tickled

>>4503596
Ken Rockwell, can I have your autograph?

>>4503596
Does this duck post on tumblr?

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>>4503201
Imagine the sound when they fly away.

>>4503631
Light efficency -90%

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We've had some nice weather and I tried out shooting birds a bit, 135mm manual lens makes it a tad challenging though.

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>>4503532
Cute Ms. Duck

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Small woodpecker- not sure what kind.

>>4502757
Brighten the bird and darken the white railing or whatever. The white is drawing the attention and not the bird.
>>4502780
Excellent shot. I might add a slight, SLIGHT darkened vignette to help keep the attention on the subject.

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>>4503685
>Brighten the bird and darken the white railing or whatever.
better?

>>4503686
The bird's a bit better, but you brightened everything. Isolate the background and bring the exposure down below where the first image was.

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>>4503688

I can't do that, it would be too fake

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>>4503692
Control of light and color are the first steps to any successful photograph.

>>4503693
Can you fix the sparrow pic?

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>>4503694
A 3 minute edit. Decide where you want the viewer to focus their attention. Work the image in small steps toward that goal.

>>4503697
idk man it's not very colorful, still looks unappealing

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Bearded Tit today, waited a long time but managed to get one passable picture.

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>>4503992

>>4504014
Ken Rockwell?

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Bird butt

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This is (I think obviously) three 3:2 pics cropped and stitched together. Do you guys ever do anything like this or would you just use only exactly one photo?

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new to Birding so I'm sure it's ass but this Blue Jay flew right into the tree I was standing under and I think this is the nicest photo I took of it.

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Beep beep

>>4504290
Once you start noticing... it doesn't stop. And soon you won't be taking pictures of the birds butt and breasts on a random stick.

>>4504351
Next time for sure, I shoulda walked off the trail to get a better angle but I wasn't certain that the photos would be as clear if I did.

Having a blast though, very surprised at how enjoyable it has been even just going around my neighborhood.

>>4504258
Great idea desu but the realisation could probably use some improvement: avoid cropping out the tail, slightly better exposure on the right, and the focus shit is distracting since the background is quite prominent (and unfortunately it's also a big disservice to the photo I would say)

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>>4504399
Tail, exposure, focus. Good points.
>tail cropped out
oops. Literally didn't notice.
>exposure
I was shooting in 1/1000 shutter mode and felt lucky to get these. Worm pic should be touched up if I combine images like this again.
>focus shit
What part is distracting? Worm bird isn't properly in focus on his face. Would you crop or blur the tiles so they're less prominent?
I also did a very lazy job putting them together. I didn't make them even, line up the tiles, try to hide the seam and the tuft of green at the bottom cut off distracts me.
I'm relatively new to trying to take anything nice looking. I liked all three of this bird, but I think they serve themselves better separate, even if shown off together.

>>4504321
Cool shot but just needed to leave the max aperture alone

>>4504403
I meant "focus shift" lel
It's especially apparent because of the tiles. Ideally a background without tiles or similarly distracting elements would be needed to get a good shot, the bonus point being that a small shift in focus like you had here wouldn't be easily noticeable.
It's the combination of busy background and shift in focus that makes it feel really wrong for me. Getting a good background often makes an average shot great, but it's easier said than done.

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>>4504365
Didn't instead to post another one so quickly but this sparrow came right up to the window I was shooting through. Lazy as hell for sure but putting out seed out in my backyard is working really well.

I can't tell if it's the auto-focus acting up because I'm shooting through a window or if it's just because my zoom lens is kind of old but the bird seems fuzzier around the edges than it should be.

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>>4504539

>>4504546
Thank you Ken, very cool.

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>>4504545
There was weirdness banding separation between the sky tones in the top, I did what I could

>>4504548
Hey, I just push the saturation and brillance sliders in Ansel. It is the original capture that counts.

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Robins and Tits here follow people around getting super close

>>4504567
>>4504672
>>4504673
I love these, what lens are you using?

>>4504698
I'm using the RF 100-500 on the R7
>>4504672
>>4504673

>>4504698
The crow, it's a Tamron 100-400, f/4.5

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a couple of these guys built a nest on a trail i like

>>4500320
dese r sum nice birdies. tysvm

>>4504726
Find the nest, find their hunting spot... get some good photos

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>>4504567
Beauitufl feather colors/details

I'm thinking of investing in a monopod as I'm shooting from hand, but now got a 500mm reflex for fun and boy is the DOF shallow.

>>4504970
Fun fact, most mirrorlens get aberrations and softness from the overtightened barrel screws distorting the mirror. You can get sharper images if you loosen the screws a little around the mirror and alternating retighten bit by bit by hand.

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>>4504973
>overtightened barrel screws distorting the mirror

Interesting! I'll have to look into that, but I've also read that it could be the heat/cold distorting the mirrors inside as well, so it needs to come up to temperature. Tokina 500mm f/8 from '91 if it matters.

I've been shooting theese two bastards fighting whilst flying but none of them came out sharp. Only later did it occur to me to do burst whilst slowly moving the focus ring... This one is after it started to rain a bit and they decided to rest on a building rooftop.

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I know it is bad, but I like the colors

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>tfw took the 12mp body instead 24mp

It was overcast anyway..

>>4505060
Run it through ai denoise, good as gold.

>>4505098
Boo!

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>>4505105
everyonw goes through a phase

>>4504956
I found the nest, its literally trailside in a little patch of forest I like. I'm super worried about disturbing them. The could be fishing anyhwere, this is a few hundred yards from lake ontario, a bay, and a bunch of ponds.

Around the nest they seem to stay about 50 feet up so the only way to get a better angle would be to haul myself up into a neighboring tree with ropes and a harness but i've only ever tried that a couple times with my biddy.

Also, again worried that might disturb them.

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>>4505117
*my buddy. who lives out of town. My biddy did get me all the gear to do it tho.
sapsucker cmae to hang out at eye level for a lil tho

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shaky robin

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>>4503731

>by far best pic in thread
>no (you)s

here ya go

>>4505117
Eagles don't usually like to hunt in large bodies of water like lake Ontario, dunno where you're located but where I live in the Niagara, Canada region there's a few nesting pairs around and they are usually are poaching people's chickens or taking advantage of the river trout that have come back in huge numbers recently.

It's going to be interesting within the next ten years with the returning number of Bald eagles and various hawk numbers. Same with beaver activity. Too bad ticks are awful here.

>>4505098
I actually did some i2i denoise with ZIT, but I felt too scammy.
I'm very tempted for a high mp body, I tend to crop a lot.
Still, that image is very impressive for an a7siii and about a 30% crop.

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>>4505189
Wildlife, especially birds is heavy in the crop category. Over the years higher mp + better photo editing has definitely become the "meta" pretty much. I guess all those people using something like the d810 for wildlife were definitely ahead of the curve.